Pope Leo XIV used the first papal address to Spain’s parliament to call for migrant protections, respect for international law, ethical limits on warfare and a renewal of public life grounded in human dignity.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Pope Leo XIV called Monday for stronger protections for migrants, respect for international law and a “moral renewal” in public life during the first papal address ever delivered to Spain’s parliament.
Speaking before Las Cortes Generales, the American Pope told Spanish lawmakers that political institutions must defend the dignity of all people, including migrants, the unborn and the most vulnerable. His address marked a significant moment for the Catholic Church in Spain, a country where religious practice has declined sharply in recent decades despite a long Catholic history.
“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile,” Leo said.
Papal addresses to foreign legislatures are uncommon because they can be viewed as formal recognition of a religious leader by lawmakers. Pope Francis addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 2015, and Pope Benedict XVI spoke to Germany’s Bundestag in 2011.
Leo’s invitation to address Spain’s parliament reflected a level of acceptance for the Catholic Church in national political life that would have been unlikely in previous years. The church was closely tied to Gen. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and held broad influence over Spanish society before democracy took root in the 1970s. That influence has waned as Spain has become increasingly secular.
Still, lawmakers gave Leo a minutes-long standing ovation after the speech, chanting “Viva el Papa!” — “Long live the Pope!”
The Pope’s address came as Israel and Iran traded fire, raising fears of a wider Middle East war. Leo repeated his call for diplomacy and warned against abandoning international law as a means of resolving disputes.
“Peace demands diplomatic courage, ethical responsibility and a vision for the future grounded in respect for the identity of every people and in the obligation of states to resolve their disputes through the peaceful means offered by international law,” he said.
Leo also criticized the renewed emphasis on military spending in Europe, where countries are increasing defense budgets in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and threats by the Trump administration to reduce U.S. financial and military support.
“It is therefore a cause for concern that, in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation,” Leo said.
The Pope also repeated his call for “rigorous ethical oversight” of artificial intelligence used in weapons systems. He said decisions involving life and death should not be handed over to automated systems or separated from human moral responsibility.
The speech drew heavily on Spain’s 16th-century School of Salamanca, an intellectual tradition that helped shape early concepts of international law and inherent human rights after Spain’s colonial conquest of the Americas. Leo praised the theologians of that tradition for recognizing that reason could not be used to justify force or self-interest simply because it was convenient.
He said they understood that power has “moral limits.”
“It must be acknowledged that society and the church herself did not always live up to these insights found in their own Christian tradition,” Leo said.
The remark was an acknowledgment of the Catholic Church’s own role in colonial conquest and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It echoed Leo’s recent apology for the Holy See’s role in legitimizing slavery.
Leo used the address to call for international action against migrant smuggling and for policies that allow people to remain safely in their home countries. At the same time, he said those who flee war, poverty and climate-related hardship must be welcomed and integrated.
“This gives rise to a twofold demand for social justice: to offer safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration; and, at the same time, to promote the right to remain in one’s own land, working to ensure that no one has to leave their home due to a lack of peace, security or decent living conditions, including economic inequalities and the effects of the climate crisis,” Leo said.
The message echoed a central theme of Pope Francis’ papacy, which emphasized the plight of refugees reaching Europe. Leo has continued that focus, particularly in comments on the dignity of migrants in the United States amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Spain’s Socialist-led government has defended immigration on both humanitarian and economic grounds, diverging from a more restrictive trend in parts of Europe and the United States. Earlier this year, the government launched an effort to legalize hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in Spain without authorization. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has argued that immigration benefits Spain’s economy, which faces an aging workforce and a low birth rate.
Leo’s visit came at a politically sensitive moment for Sánchez. His Socialist Party has been damaged by corruption scandals, though Sánchez himself has not been directly implicated. Investigations have involved some of his close confidants, as well as his wife and brother.
The scandals have unfolded as Spain’s politics have grown more polarized. Sánchez’s minority government has struggled to pass legislation and has not passed a budget for the past three years.
Leo appeared to address that political climate when he warned that “political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one’s adversary.”
Sánchez, an atheist and progressive leader, has found common ground with Leo on issues including opposition to the war in Iran. Both Sánchez and the Pope have also been outspoken critics of the Trump administration.
After meeting Leo at the Vatican last month, Sánchez called the Pope’s voice “a moral compass in the fight against injustice.”
The Catholic Church in Spain has traditionally been closer to the conservative Popular Party than to the Socialist Party, which has championed issues including same-sex marriage and abortion rights. But Pope Francis and Leo have both emphasized social justice in public discourse, narrowing the distance between the Vatican and some progressive governments, according to Rafael Ruiz Andrés, a sociology professor at Complutense University of Madrid who studies religious dynamics.
Leo’s speech placed migration, peace, ethical limits on technology and respect for human dignity at the center of his message to Spanish lawmakers, while also signaling a notable public role for the Catholic Church in one of Europe’s increasingly secular democracies.
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